Grain Elevators — Preventing Fatal Accidents
Jul 3
posted by Clarity Testing in
OSHA, Grain Elevators, Workplace Safety
| 0 Comments
They don't always make the headlines or evening news, but grain elevator accidents happen all too frequently:
- In July of 2010 two teenagers were killed and a 20-year-old man was hospitalized after being trapped for 12 hours in a grain elevator accident at Haasbach, LLC, facility in Mount Carroll, Illinois.
- A 49-year-old worker, Raymond Nowland, was engulfed by corn in a storage bin, suffocated and died at Hillsdale Elevator's facility in Geneseo, IL.
- In Taft, Texas, an employee died as a result of being engulfed in grain at a company work site.
Unfortunately these incidents were far from being rare events. At least 26 people died in grain entrapments in 2010. According to researchers at Purdue University the numbers are increasing. The year 2010 had the most grain entrapments since they start recording in 1978.
The two Illinois companies mentioned above were fined by OSHA a total of $1,352,125 in fines for these incidents. At the Taft Grain & Elevator Co., the fine was $188,000. OSHA issued the Texas facility four willful and 16 serious violations. The violations included willful violations, such as
- Failing to provide a body harness and lifeline to employees working on stored grain
- Lock and tagout equipment during grain storage building entry to prevent accidental energy start-up
- Failure to have an attendant present with rescue equipment during grain storage bin entry.
Moving grain can be deadly in that it can bury a human being in a matter of seconds. The grain acts like quicksand so even a fit person who struggles to free himself will find it impossible to avoid being buried alive. When grain is moved out of a bin while a worker is present, the flow of grain creates a suction that can pull the worker into the grain. Grain accidents of this nature occur rapidly and with little opportunity to provide rescue.
For that reason, there are many OSHA safety guidelines dealing with grain elevators. Some key points include:
- Turn off and lock out all powered equipment associated with the bin, including augers used to help move the grain, so that the grain is not being emptied or moving out or into the bin.
- Prohibit walking down grain and similar practices where an employee walks on grain to make it flow.
- Provide all employees a body harness with a lifeline, or a boatswains chair, and ensure that it is secured prior to the employee entering the bin.
- Station an observer outside the bin or silo being entered by an employee. Ensure the observer is equipped to provide assistance and that his only task is to continuously track the employee in the bin.
- Do not allow workers to enter into bins or silos underneath a bridging condition, or where a build-up of grain products on the sides could fall and bury them.
- Test the air within a bin or silo prior to entry for the presence of combustible and toxic gases, and to determine if there is sufficient oxygen.
- Ensure a permit is issued for each instance a worker enters a bin or silo, certifying that the precautions listed above have been implemented.
Grain elevator accidents may not always make the news, but potentially fatal accidents can happen at these sites. OSHA regulations for grain elevator safety may prevent deadly missteps.
More information can be found at
http://www.osha.gov/Publications/grainstorageFACTSHEET.pdf
References:
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=19764
http://www.osha.gov/asst-sec/Grain-Letter-2-1-2011.html
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=19815
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/grainhandling/hazards.html
http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/grainlab/content/pdf/US_GrainEntrapments.pdf